En toc
(1993)
Nouvelles Scènes (Dijon, France) October 1993.
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The performance took place in an old factory called l'Usine, they
had installed a radio station there for the duration of the festival,
but they had not received the transmitter in time. This last minute
hitch in their plans was perfect for my purposes. The intent of
the performance was to set up radiophonic actions without necessarily
using standard radio technology. Aside from some visual and other
performative actions, two 1watt transmitters were placed in the
middle of the Bar-Hall-Dining area. One was transmitting, the other
was idle. During the meal I proceeded to de-solder one of the 1watt
transmitters. I placed all the components on a table in an appetizing
manner (in an hommage to Testuo Kogawa). In a sense, I was digesting
the transmitter, or consuming it by destroying it. The smell of
solder blended with the odors of the meals the audience was having.
I am not going to fool you, most of the audience was oblivious to
what I was doing. There were eating and drinking in anticipation
of a concert that was going to happen in the concert hall at the
other end of the space. This was also appropriate, reaching a certain
invisibility through a visible action. The other actions in this
14 hour performance were of the same ilk and had similar effect,
that of a performer embodying a transmitter and the audience's tuner
scanning the dial in vain for a signal.
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